Karel Teige and Typography

30.04.2009

Karel Teige (1900–1951) was a notable theoretician of art and architecture, journalist, critic, editor and an active contributor to the century social life. He became the leading figure of the avant-garde artists’ association Devětsil (1920) and since 1934 led the Prague Surrealist Group. He was also a collage artist. However, up until recently, an important part of his artistic output has escaped public attention – book design and typography. Teige was not only a pioneering theoretician of new typography but he had also been, for almost thirty years, a practicing typographer who designed a large number of books, magazines, posters, headed papers and jobbing prints. Teige created a unique design for many significant collections of poetry by František Halas, Vítězslav Nezval and Jaroslav Seifert, collaborated on the typographic design of the most important period anthologies and journals (Devětsil, Život 2, ReD), and closely collaborated with the leading publishing houses (Odeon, Aventinum, František Borový). His technique of connecting the book cover with collage deserves special attention. Teige’s extensive typographical overture comprising several hundred pieces represents an essential contribution to the European book culture between the wars and also in the period following shortly after. Karel Teige became an acclaimed figure already during his lifetime, presenting his typographical works all over the world. The first Czech monograph dedicated to the summarization of Teige’s typographical work has the ambition to become the complex overview of the history of Czech modern book design, especially owing to its comparative and confrontational approach. Beside the exceptionally rich pictorial accompaniment, the book also contains the selection of theoretical writings by Karel Teige devoted to typography and a revealing index of Teige’s typographical work. It is concluded with a detailed summary in German and English.